Isaiah Roby (born February 3, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

High school career

Roby attended Dixon High School in

Dixon, Illinois Dixon is a city and the county seat of Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 in 2000. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the R ...

. He joined a team that finished its previous season with a 1–28 record, but in his final three years at Dixon, he led the team to a combined 76–13 record. In his junior season, Roby averaged 12.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 3.7 blocks per game, earning second-team all-state Class 3A honors. As a senior, he averaged 19.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.9 blocks per game. Roby finished eighth in

Illinois Mr. Basketball The Illinois Mr. Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in the U.S. state of Illinois. Most of the award winners have gone on to play at the highest levels of college basketball, and many have ...

voting and was named second-team all-state by the '' Chicago Sun-Times''. He left Dixon with the most career rebounds and blocks in school history and the second-most career points. Roby was rated a three-star recruit by ESPN and

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite b ...

, and a four-star recruit by Rivals. On October 22, 2014, he committed to Nebraska.

College career

Roby entered his freshman season for Nebraska in 2016–17 with a pelvic stress reaction suffered in the offseason, delaying his college debut. He remarked, "It's probably the longest I sat out from basketball since I started playing basketball." In 30 games, Roby made four starts and averaged 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, while recording 25 blocks, the fifth-most by a Nebraska freshman. He increased his weight from to in his first year in college. As a sophomore, Roby averaged 8.7 points and team-highs of 6.3 rebounds and two blocks per game. He also led his team in field goal percentage, shooting 57 percent, and compiled 63 blocks, the most by a Nebraska player since 2001. In his junior season, Roby started in all 35 games, averaging 11.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. He led Nebraska to an unexpected run in the 2019 Big Ten tournament. On March 30, 2019, Roby declared for the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

without hiring an agent.

Professional career

Texas Legends (2019–2020)

Roby was drafted 45th by the Detroit Pistons and traded to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

. On August 7, 2019, Roby officially signed with the Mavericks. The Mavericks assigned him to the Texas Legends for the start of the NBA G League season. He suffered from plantar fasciitis, which caused him to miss several games for the Legends.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2020–2022)

On January 24, 2020, Roby was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder by the Mavericks in exchange for Justin Patton and cash considerations. He did not appear in a game during his time with the Mavericks. He made his NBA debut with a brief appearance for the Thunder in January 2020. He was then assigned shortly thereafter to the Oklahoma City Blue, returning to the main Thunder roster for only a single day before being sent back to the Blue. On December 29, 2020, Roby scored a season-high 19 points, alongside seven rebounds and two blocks, in a 107–118 loss to the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. On March 28, 2022, Roby scored a career-high 30 points, alongside eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, in a 134–131 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. On July 3, Roby was waived by the Thunder.

San Antonio Spurs (2022–2023)

On July 5, 2022, Roby was claimed off waivers by the San Antonio Spurs. He made his Spurs debut on October 19, recording five points and two rebounds in a 102–129 loss to the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

. On March 3, 2023, Roby was waived by the Spurs.

New York Knicks (2023–present)

On April 9, 2023, Roby signed with the

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Oklahoma City , 3 , , 0 , , 3.7 , , .000 , , , , , , .7 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Oklahoma City , 61 , , 34 , , 23.4 , , .483 , , .294 , , .744 , , 5.6 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .6 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Oklahoma City , 45 , , 28 , , 21.1 , , .514 , , .444 , , .672 , , 4.8 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .8 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", San Antonio , 42 , , 2 , , 11.3 , , .432 , , .300 , , .488 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .4 , , .2 , , 4.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 151 , , 64 , , 18.9 , , .485 , , .351 , , .675 , , 4.4 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .5 , , 7.7

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Nebraska , 30 , , 4 , , 15.2 , , .394 , , .200 , , .762 , , 2.9 , , .7 , , .5 , , .8 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Nebraska , 32 , , 13 , , 24.0 , , .565 , , .405 , , .724 , , 6.3 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , 2.0 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Nebraska , 35 , , 35 , , 31.2 , , .454 , , .333 , , .677 , , 6.9 , , 1.9 , , 1.3 , , 1.9 , , 11.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 97 , , 52 , , 23.9 , , .476 , , .336 , , .702 , , 5.5 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , 1.6 , , 8.1

References

External links

Nebraska Cornhuskers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roby, Isaiah 1998 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Illinois Detroit Pistons draft picks Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball players Oklahoma City Blue players Oklahoma City Thunder players People from Dixon, Illinois Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Texas Legends players